Arginine-Ornithine Combinations

Arginine is an amino acid, as is Ornithine and they both have a similar role in the human body. Both of these amino acids are vital to the production of urea, they are also both thought to help with the healing process for people with, burns, infections or other medical illnesses.

They are both naturally created by the body, as well as being found in foods such as meat, dairy and fish.

As they are both naturally occurring amino acids, most people do not need to take them as supplements. However, as neither of them have any severe side effects, many people take them as supplements, Arginine is perhaps the most common of the two, but products containing both have become popular.

Most commonly supplements containing both Arginine and Ornithine are products for body builders and athletes. Studies have shown that taking them together can actually increase the bodies strength and lean body mass. Of course just taking them on their own will not have this effect, but when used as part of a training program, it has been shown to have notable results. These products should be taken either in the morning or in evening on an empty stomach, or can be taken 30 minutes before the workout. Below are a few examples of products containing both Arginine and Ornithine.

• The company Ultimate Nutrition sells tablets containing an Arginine, Ornithine and Lysine mix, a bottle of this contains 100 capsules with three capsules being classed as one 'serving'.
• Viridian sell a powdered form, where a teaspoon of the powder should be mixed with either water or juice, and taken either throughout the day, or 30-60 minutes before or after eating.
• Holland and Barrett sell capsules by the brand Precision Engineered that contain Arginine, Ornithine and also the mineral Chromium Picolinate.
• Health Aid sell tablets which also contain Vitamin B6, two of these should be taken each day, again on an empty stomach.
• NSI, Nutraceutical Sciences Institute, sell an Arginine and Ornithine tablet, with three tablets being the recommended 'serving'.
• GNC Pro Performance also sell an Arginine and Ornithine tablet which has a recommended serving size of four tablets.

Tablets and powders containing Arginine and Ornithine really can be found everywhere, from the bigger brand names, down to smaller names just sold at a few local stores. The prices of all these brands do vary as well, this can depend not only on the brand itself, but on the amount of Arginine/Ornithine each product contains. Most products tend to contain around 500mg of Arginine, with slightly less, around 250mg of Ornithine. This ratio however varies between products, and the serving size can change the amount that is consumed.